Former Rep. Katie Porter, the 2026 gubernatorial candidate who has a narrow edge in the polls, raised eyebrows Tuesday when a recording emerged of her suggesting ending a television interview after becoming irritated by a reporter’s questions.
The recording shows CBS Sacramento reporter Julie Watts asking Porter, a Democrat, what she would say to the nearly 6.1 million Californians who voted for President Trump in 2024, and the UC Irvine law professor responding that she didn’t need their support if she competed against a Republican in the November 2026 runoff election to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
After Porter highlighted her experience winning a closely divided Orange County congressional district, she grew palpably irritated by Watts’ follow-up questions on her dismissiveness about needing support from voters who supported Trump.
“I feel like this is unnecessarily argumentative. What is your question?” Porter said.
Watts, a correspondent for CBS News California Investigates, responded that she had asked every other candidate similar questions in relation to Proposition 50, the redistricting ballot measure that Newsom and other California Democrats put on the ballot in a special election for November.
Porter said she would seek every vote she could win, but then grew testy over follow-up questions.
“I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” Porter said, saying she objected to multiple follow-up questions. “I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation. … And if every question you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there.”
She later said, “I don’t want this all on camera.”
Porter, a protégé of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), won election to Congress in 2018 and gained attention for grilling executives and using a white board to explain complex policies. The 51-year-old unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2024 and returned to teaching law at UC Irvine.
On Tuesday night, Porter’s campaign said that the interview continued for an additional 20 minutes after the heated exchange, but did not offer further comment.
The former congresswoman’s Democratic rivals in the 2026 gubernatorial race seized on her comments.
“If you’re running for Gov, then you should be available to answer tough questions from reporters,” state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond wrote on X, calling for CBS to hold a gubernatorial debate moderated by Watts. “I’m in. Are others? I promise it won’t be an unhappy experience.”
Wealthy businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck dropped $200,000 on broadcast and digital ads that splice clips of himself and Porter being interviewed by Watts.
“She snaps at reporters. I snap when the customers of California get shortchanged on what they bargained for,” Cloobeck wrote on Instagram. “That’s the difference in our priorities.”
A spokesperson for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also weighed in.
“We need a governor who will work to solve hard problems and who is not afraid to answer simple questions,” said spokesperson Kerry Jacob. The Villaraigosa campaign on Wednesday released an ad that replayed the heated portion of the Porter interview, with the former L.A. mayor summing up by saying that California needs “leaders who will solve hard problems and answer simple questions.”
Former Controller Betty Yee called on Porter to drop out of the race, saying she doesn’t have the temperament to be California’s next governor.
Democratic strategists not associated with any candidate in the race also cringed.
“When you’re governor, you’re governor of everyone, not just the people in your party. It’s a bad look to say you don’t want or need votes from certain Californians, even those you really disagree with,” said Elizabeth Ashford, who served as a strategist for Govs. Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris when she was the attorney general of California.
“But, also, even good candidates have bad nights,” Ashford added. “This was a miss for Katie, but not every interview is going to go great.”
It’s not the first time Porter has been criticized by fellow Democrats for her behavior during a hard-fought primary.
After it became clear that she had lost in California’s Senate primary election in 2024, Porter posted on social media that she faced “an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election.”
Democratic leaders denounced Porter’s comments for echoing the rhetoric of President Trump, who has falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen by President Biden. Porter later said she wished she had “chosen a different word.”
